Gowran Park turned into a veterans paradise yesterday as the 12-year-old Bob Treacy regained his Cuisine de France Thyestes Chase crown in sparkling style.
It provided the claiming jockey John Cullen with his biggest success to date and allowed Bob Treacy to become just the fourth horse to twice win the £65,000 feature in its 57-year history.
It's a fair bet that the main man in Bob Treacy's life has some memory of each of them, too, but rarely can a victory have been as sweet for the Co Wexford-based permit holder Michael Hickey.
Hickey (81) not only trains and owns Bob Treacy but also bred him at his Garryrichard Stud whose stallions have sired a remarkable three Cheltenham Gold Cup winners since 1992.
The successful 200-acre farm has been in the Hickey family since 1870 but rarely can a winner have been as sweet as Bob Treacy bounced back to the style which allowed him win the race in 1999 with 12st on his back.
Yesterday's 10-11 in contrast must have seemed like a featherweight and Cullen made full use of it, leading five fences out and looking to have the hot 11 to 10 favourite Over The Furze beaten when the novice fell at the last.
"He was never right last year but he's making up for it now. It'll pay for the oats!" Hickey joked. He admitted to not fancying the winner despite Bob Treacy having had five of his previous victories at the Co Kilkenny track and yesterday's £42,250 first prize brings Bob Treacy's career winnings to over £110,000.
Cullen in contrast has his career in front of him and he said: "Going to the last I couldn't believe how far clear I was. I suppose I was panicking a bit, winning such a big race by so far. Hopefully I'll be cooler in future!"
"I was definitely beaten anyway," admitted Over The Furze's rider Conor O'Dwyer while the English raider, Luzcadou, suffered an overreach when making a mistake with over a circuit to go. "It's a long way to come to get an overreach," said his trainer Micky Hammond.
Hickey gives 63 years to another young claimer Sean McDermott but the Tralee-born jockey will also remember yesterday fondly after a double of Pat Fahy-trained winners brought his career total to four.
Coralpha took the handicap hurdle but it was Belle Away's defeat of Swiss Tune and the odds-on favourite Golden Row in the second maiden hurdle that had Fahy thinking ahead.
"Belle Away has a big future to her. I jumped her over a hurdle this morning to get her eye and she jumped it like a fence," said Fahy.
The mood of most of the huge crowd, already tested by some chronic traffic problems on the approach to the track, can hardly have been helped by no favourite succeeding and the lowest price winner being 8 to 1. However, one punter did scoop the Jackpot, netting £10,718.
